An exciting new cure foundation has been launched by a paralysed woman in the Netherlands. The Endparalysis Foundation has been set up by Corinne Jeanmaire, a dedicated cure advocate who was paralysed in a car accident in 2001. The Foundation’s primary goal is to accelerate the translation of biological therapies for chronic spinal cord injury by co-financing promising research projects. 100% of all funds raised by the foundation will go directly to research. The Foundation has a very strong scientific base with experts including Dr Mark Bacon, Scientific Director at the UK’s International Spinal Research Trust, Professor Jerry Silver from Case Western Reserve University, USA and Professor Joost Verhaagen from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience. As well as fundraising, within the coming year foundation also aims to engage scientists build a collaborative network in order to develop a flexible roadmap for accelerating combination therapies.

Please support this great new cure foundation by having a look at the website here and liking it on facebook here.

On Saturday 31st May my best friend Freda and I are organising a CHARITY EXTRAVAGANZA NIGHT in aid of Spinal Research. It is being held in a cool venue called Yager Bar which is in St Pauls, Central London. The tickets are £60 each and that includes admission, glass of champagne and also appetisers along with a great line up of entertainment. We are very lucky to have the help of a fantastic PR guy called Victor Trocki who has worked promoting members of the Royal family, celebrities, wag’s etc. Victor has organised many events and we really couldn’t put this together without him and are so grateful that he is really wanting to support our cause of finding a cure for spinal cord injury. We have some great acts all of which are giving their time and support free of charge.

Mozez, ex frontman of the group Zero 7 will be performing. So excited as I’m such a big fan of his and have seen him perform live… he’s amazing.

Carla Thomas will be performing and she has worked with amazing artists such as Alexander O’ Neal. A very good friend of mine Carl will be doing his drag act, very funny guy along with some dancers and glamorous girls circulating the crowd. Also we have auctions and raffles with some fabulous prizes to be won. After all of the acts and auctions you’ll be able to party the night away as we also have a couple of DJ’s lined up.

Media will also be involved so hopefully good coverage in newspapers etc too. The tickets are selling fast so purchase yours now by contacting myself or Freda 07770-418-482 or you can contact Michelle Marsh directly at Spinal Research on 01483-898-786. I would like to thank everyone who is contributing to this superb evening. Both myself and Freda are so thankful for everyone’s generosity. See you on the 31st everyone for raising as much money as we possibly can to fund a cure for paralysis. Myself and the CURE GIRLS will keep on fundraising and campaigning until we can regain our independence and also WALK ONCE MORE.

The UK’s Stoke Mandeville Spinal Foundation (SMSF) is conducting a priority setting survey, open to individuals living with SCI and also families, carers, health and social care professionals. This is a rare opportunity for our pro-cure voices to be heard and it’s vital that the results of this survey deliver a realistic and honest view of our desires and needs.

Surveys often ask us to prioritise our needs: “Do we want bowel and bladder? Is hand function the most important thing?” What surveys have failed to do is understand the UNDERLYING causes to all our problems: damage to the spinal cord.

So with this survey, we encourage you not to list your priorities and not to ask for a solution to symptoms but to ask a simple question:

“HOW CAN WE REPAIR THE CHRONICALLY DAMAGED SPINAL CORD TO RESTORE FUNCTION?”

Care initiatives for individuals with SCI have limitations. No matter how many carers you have, how big your financial compensation package is, how light your wheelchair is, how many accessible shops and restaurants there are, how much rehabilitation is available to you, how many incontinence products available to you and how much assistive technology is available – it cannot ever compare with the gains in health, independence and wellbeing resulting from the return of function.

The repair of the chronically damaged spinal cord is the ultimate form of Quality of Life for the SCI Community!

The Cure Girls strongly urge you to take part in this survey and more importantly, ask the right question:

“HOW CAN WE REPAIR THE CHRONICALLY DAMAGED SPINAL CORD TO RESTORE FUNCTION?”